Uganda forces citizens to register SIMs in bid to fight crime

All mobile phone users in Uganda will need to register their SIM cards with the government to keep in
line with new legislation that aims to make it easier to track
phones and combat crime.

From March 2012, all new mobile SIM cards will have to be
registered before they can be activated. People with existing SIMs
will be asked to register them over the next 12 months, following
the enactment of the Interception of Communication Act. If they
fail to do so, they will be deactivated.

Users will need to show identification documents such as a
passport, driver's licence or local council card in order to
register their SIM. At the time of registration, they will also
have their photo and fingerprints taken. Each time someone buys a
new SIM, it will also have to be registered.

The initiative is aimed at fighting crime in East Africa. Uganda
does not have a national identity database of its citizens and the
government believes that this initiative is necessary to "protect
the interests of those who are victims and potential victims of
those who abuse the privilege of telecommunications".

The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
argues that because mobile technology is used for financial
transactions as well as communication that it has become a tool to
perpetrate crime. It argues that unregistered SIM cards are used by
criminals ranging from kidnappers to terrorists. It says on its website:

"It is the anonymous nature of the unregistered SIM card that kidnappers are able to ply their trade. It is how extortionists
are able to get away with their deed. Text scams flourish in such
an environment. Terrorists, insurgents and enemies of the state and society
hide behind untraceable numbers. Rumour mongers use it to sow
confusion, spread malicious information or start hoaxes."

The initiative is sure to raise privacy concerns, but the ICT
argues that "the only person who should be afraid of SIM
registration is the criminally-minded".

Uganda is now the third East African country after Tanzania and
Kenya to force people to register their SIM cards in this way. The
countries are falling in line under an umbrella body called the
East Africa Communications Organisation (which also includes Rwanda
and Burundi) that set a deadline of mid 2012 to get all SIM cards
registered.

The regulatory body, the Uganda Communications Commission, has
assured mobile users that the registration process won't be
burdensome. Telecommunications providers including MTN, Airtel,
Warid, Orange, UTL, Smiles and I-telecom have been instructed to
make it as simple as possible.

Comments

Same shit law passed in Greece a few years back and all i have seen is an increase in foreign sim card use and a huge increase in crime.problem solved